Cost of 3d prints

[RobL]

Hey all

 

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm trying to get my head around 3d printing costs.  Just the cost of printing the item, assuming you already have the 3d printer, not factoring in electric usage (which I don't imagine would amount to much anyway), nothing else.

 

I have an STL file (downloaded from Thingiverse) of an object that is basically a 72mm square 10mm thick object.  Everywhere I've looked online has quoted about £10 (or more) per object (in I assume basic FDM material).  However I want to print 30-60 of the object, making it economically unviable.

 

What are the actual costs of matierals involved for someone just printing such an object at home?

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited September 3, 2020 by RobL

[Kushan_Farsight]

The issue here may be the volume of the part combined with a dense infill,  causing the price to rise.

 

Does it need to be a 'cube'? - could it rather be almost a square 'cup' with 1mm thk sides and a 1mm thick base? This would be massively less voluminous and faster and cheaper to print. 

[RobL]

1 hour ago, Kushan_Farsight said:

The issue here may be the volume of the part combined with a dense infill,  causing the price to rise.

 

Does it need to be a 'cube'? - could it rather be almost a square 'cup' with 1mm thk sides and a 1mm thick base? This would be massively less voluminous and faster and cheaper to print. 

 

 

Yes, it's not a solid piece.

 

This is basically what it is, there are variations on the details in the middle portion, but the overall shape, and the groove around the edges, is the same (sorry should have posted an image in the first place) -

 

 

 

I believe the sides, where the grooves are, are 1mm thick as the object is based on an out of production tabletop game piece. 

 

There is even a version with just the grooves around the outside, like a frame, that one could then fill the centre portion with styrene sheet -

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by RobL

[Stu_davros]

I'm just getting started with my Photon resin printer and looking at your game piece it may be more viable to print in resin, as 30 or so would take the same time as 1. The material costs are higher though.

If you want to send me the stl file I can estimate the cost using Chitubox for as many as I can get on a print bed.

 

Stuart

[RobL]

Thanks PM sent.

Edited September 3, 2020 by RobL

[ratsmitglied]

10 pounds seems a bit excessive for that item - material costs do vary between whether it is resin printed or FDM printed, but most commission printers would charge based on time take as well as material costs. I know that this is the model that I use. I'd be happy to provide you an estimate of what I would charge to print (I basically charge cost recovery for items that I haven't designed myself), but any savings you may get would probably be eaten up by customs and postage from AU.

 

At a very basic estimate I would say material costs for an FDM print would be somewhere <$1, however your printer time is likely to be fairly high. On an resin printer I would say exactly the same, the material costs would be minimal per item (I've printed a full bed of 28mm - about 43mm overall height -  figures and the material costs came to about $5AUD), but at 75mm high the print time will be fairly significant (depending on settings it could be about 6+ hours), the main difference being, as @Stu_davros mentioned is that in resin adding more simply increases material costs (up to the point where the bed is full), whereas in FDM it also increases time. If the best price you can get is 10 pounds per item and you're needing 30 of them you're actually at the point where you can get a printer, print them yourself, throw away the printer once completed and still be ahead.

 

The reason for this is that on an FDM machine each item has to be printed separately, even if you are printing at the same time, with the nozzle moving for every single layer in every single item. On a resin printer like the Photon the entire layer is printed at once, regardless of how many items are on the build plate.
 

[Circloy]

Could the empty frame be redesigned as a kit of 4 pieces? That way, with careful positioning, you'd probably get 3 sets on a photon print bed and save massively on print time due to the lower print height.

[Pouln]

12 hours ago, Circloy said:

Could the empty frame be redesigned as a kit of 4 pieces? That way, with careful positioning, you'd probably get 3 sets on a photon print bed and save massively on print time due to the lower print height.

Good option, or even if it can be split in 2 parts, you’ll be able to print more at the same time.

[nheather]

I doubt the cost of the FDM material is the issue - you could probably print everything you wanted with a kilo of filament costing £15.
 

The issue is more likely time - I don’t know much about commercial printers, but I know if I printed that on my Ender 3 it would probably take 2 to 4 hours.  The thing with FDM, unlike resin is if you out two of them on the bed then the print will take twice as long - maybe even longer because there is the additional travel time between the two prints.
 

Also when I print, I tend to stay with it at the start to make sure it is going okay and then I will check in from time to time ti make sure it hasn’t gone wrong - so it does need some supervision but not a lot.

 

Now I assume commercial machines are faster and more reliable but either way I see the main cost is that you are tying up the machine for many hours - you are effectively hiring it?

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

 

 

[Andreas.R]

Hello,

 

shapeways is offering bulk-printing, maybe they give you a considerable quote.

One advantage of shapeways is, that you don´t need a cage, only a sprue where the

items are connected!  Use Versatile Plastic which is available in different colours.

 https://business.shapeways.com/partnership?exp_variant=BulkPricingBanner#get-in-touch

 

Regards

 

Andreas

[Major Eazy]

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2020 at 8:46 AM, RobL said:

Hey all

 

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I'm trying to get my head around 3d printing costs.  Just the cost of printing the item, assuming you already have the 3d printer, not factoring in electric usage (which I don't imagine would amount to much anyway), nothing else.

 

 

 

It may.

 

3D printers need very hot heat, not just for the nozzle only, but also for the base too. They can be very hot, as hot as a sandwich toaster. In order to product that much heat, the machine would need to use more electricity. Chances are it needed more electricity than an inkjet printer does.

 

I would guess that 3D printers are in the same league as kettles, toasters, microwaves, etc., The kind that needed 13amps fuse.

 

Just my two cents.

[ratsmitglied]

16 minutes ago, Major Eazy said:

 

It may.

 

3D printers need very hot heat, not just for the nozzle only, but also for the base too. They can be very hot, as hot as a sandwich toaster. In order to product that much heat, the machine would need to use more electricity. Chances are it needed more electricity than an inkjet printer does.

 

I would guess that 3D printers are in the same league as kettles, toasters, microwaves, etc., The kind that needed 13amps fuse.

 

Just my two cents.

not really - most printers run at 12 or 24 volts, so actually significantly less power draw than an electric kettle or microwave.

My ender 3 has a 360W power supply - 24 volts at 15A. People have measure it as using 0.5kWh for 4 hours worth of printing, which in most places is a fairly negligeable cost.

[Pouln]

35 minutes ago, Major Eazy said:

 

It may.

 

3D printers need very hot heat, not just for the nozzle only, but also for the base too. They can be very hot, as hot as a sandwich toaster. In order to product that much heat, the machine would need to use more electricity. Chances are it needed more electricity than an inkjet printer does.

 

I would guess that 3D printers are in the same league as kettles, toasters, microwaves, etc., The kind that needed 13amps fuse.

 

Just my two cents.

This might go for the FDM printers but not for resin printers. Heat is not a requirement.

[Major Eazy]

1 minute ago, Pouln said:

This might go for the FDM printers but not for resin printers. Heat is not a requirement.

 

Oh? Well, I assumed that 3D printers needed heat to melt the plastic and shape it. And I assume that if those 3D printers needed heat, then they would draw some power, so I would assume they use anywhere more or less about the same electricity as a toaster or sandwich toaster, or maybe even a kettle.

 

I would assume 3D printers are the sort of machines that needed a 13amps fuse, and usually anything that needed 13amps fuse are the kind that draws more power.

 

 

[Pouln]

12 minutes ago, Major Eazy said:

 

Oh? Well, I assumed that 3D printers needed heat to melt the plastic and shape it. And I assume that if those 3D printers needed heat, then they would draw some power, so I would assume they use anywhere more or less about the same electricity as a toaster or sandwich toaster, or maybe even a kettle.

 

I would assume 3D printers are the sort of machines that needed a 13amps fuse, and usually anything that needed 13amps fuse are the kind that draws more power.

 

 

FDM printers heat a filament and may have a heated bed. The resin printers don’t.

they produce layers just by exposing UV sensitive resins to UV light. The hobby printers use a LCD to expose a layer and a UV light source (LED’s). There fore you may understand that power requirements are really low for these type of printers.

[RobL]

OK thanks guys.

 

I've decided to abandon the 3d printing route.  Too costly, either by investing in a 3d printer, or by seeking someone else to do it for me.

 

I made some of the pieces I want last week out of styrene.  They seem to work ok, although they're devoid of details, but I can go back at a later date and add scratchbuilt details if I wish.  At least they function, so far, as I want.

[ratsmitglied]

10 hours ago, Major Eazy said:

 

Oh? Well, I assumed that 3D printers needed heat to melt the plastic and shape it. And I assume that if those 3D printers needed heat, then they would draw some power, so I would assume they use anywhere more or less about the same electricity as a toaster or sandwich toaster, or maybe even a kettle.

 

I would assume 3D printers are the sort of machines that needed a 13amps fuse, and usually anything that needed 13amps fuse are the kind that draws more power.

 

 

Electricity costs for FDM printers are negligible - as in $0.15 for 4 hours worth of printing. I have had two FDM printers and a Resin printer all running on a single 10A circuit with no problems at all.